" last night "

Chapter 30

     Six more shots in, and Darion was very quickly figuring out that Windham was an incredibly clingy drunk. The amount of times he had to push the overseer off of his lap would have been funny if it weren't for the fact that his friends kept wolf-whistling at him every time it happened. Eventually, Darion managed to convince Windham to just lean against him, otherwise Edward might yell just a bit too loudly about how they needed to book a room upstairs.
     However, Darion was absolutely not complaining about how endearing it was to watch Windham laugh and smile. Even if he was absolutely wasted and would likely not remember half of what happened that night when he woke up in the morning, Darion couldn't help but stare at Windham; his smiles were rare, so Darion wanted to remember every second of each one.
"By the Void," Wesley muttered to Petrov, "I don't think I've ever seen him so happy with someone."
     "I agree. I am just glad he's found someone that brings him joy."
     Edward interrupted their conversation with the thunk of his glass hitting the table. "For fuck's sake, guys, stop mooning over his relationship like a couple of teenage girls."
     "Oh, shut up. Like you aren't the one who started making bets on how long it would take for Darion to bring him to bed," Wesley pointed out.
     "Hey, I'm just sayin', it'll be interesting to see how much convincin' it'll take, with him being an overseer and all."
     Having overheard just the last bit of their conversation, Windham slurred, "'M not a... 'M not a fuckin' prude, asshole."
Leomar snorted. "Apparently not, you've been trying to straddle our poor friend over there the entire night."
Darion snickered when Windham rolled his eyes and huddled closer to his side, pressing his face against the side of his neck. "No offense, sweetheart, but they all have a bit of a point."
"Finally," Edward announced, "you've said something agreeable. Don't overwhelm the poor man the first time you try an' get into his pants, eh Mil?"
Windham shot a cold glare at Edward. "Fuck off, will you? Y'keep calling me a prude, but would a prude do this?"
As soon as the last word had left his lips, he fumbled for a hold on Darion's coat and pulled him forward, slamming their lips together with a bruising force.
     After recovering from his momentary shock, Darion threaded his fingers through Windham's hair and returned the kiss with equal fervor, teeth clacking and fighting for control over the kiss. Windham lost as soon as Darion tugged on his hair and nipped at his bottom lip.
     As suddenly as it begun, the kiss ended with Windham pulling away, grinning from ear to ear. With his curly hair slightly ruffled and cheeks burning dark red, Darion could confidently say that Windham was the most gorgeous man he'd ever set his eyes on. His heart hammered in his chest as the overseer leaned against his shoulder.
     "You, uh, kiss really well...for a prude." Darion laughed when Windham smacked his shoulder and buried his face against the crook of his neck.
     Edward whistled and took another sip of whiskey. "You should take him drinking more often, Mil."
     "After all the trouble you've caused, I doubt he'll want to invite him back ever again," Wesley noted. "You best be glad Windham's too drunk to be properly mad at you. From what Mil's told me—"
     "Oh, don't even get started. You're such a killjoy, I'm jus' messing with 'em."
     Tracing his finger around the rim of his untouched glass, Darion rolled his eyes. "That's an interesting way to say you got my boyfriend wasted beyond belief, Eddie."
     "C'mon, he's having fun! Right, Windham?"
     "Suuuuuure!" He hiccuped and haphazardly grabbed at another shot glass before his hand was gently pushed down.
     "Windham," cautioned Darion, "you've had an awful lot to drink already, maybe you should ease up a bit."
     "Mmmm, don't wanna."
     "This isn't gonna end well," Leomar whispered to Edward.
     "Shh!" Wesley elbowed Leomar, effectively silencing him.
     Sighing, Darion slid the drink farther away from Windham. "You don't need to end up more hungover than you already will be, okay?"
     Windham started up at Darion, pouting and disappointed, but his frown turned to a giddy smile when Darion kissed his forehead. "Okaaay..." He huddled closer to the guard's side, feeling a bit drowsy now.
     Without realizing it, Windham passed out against Darion, his face smushed against his shoulder. Only when Darion shook him awake in a considerably more silent bar did he realize he'd been asleep in the first place.
     "C'mon," he said softly, keeping an arm wrapped tightly around Windham's waist, "let's getcha back to my place, yeah?"
     Windham grumbled something in agreement as he stumbled across the room to the door. Darion made sure to grab the overseer's coat on the way out and draped it across his shoulders so that he wouldn't be as cold. Windham slung his arm around Darion's neck to steady himself as he was steered out of the bar and into the brisk night.
     "How do you feel?"
     "'M...tired. Real tired."
     "Does your head hurt?"
     Windham shook his head before letting it fall on top of Darion's.
     A small smile tugged at the corners of Darion's mouth. "You're gonna be the death of me, y'know?"
     The overseer giggled and nearly tripped over a crack in the street. "Uhhuh."
     Shaking his head, Darion looked around the mostly deserted streets for anyone that might see them. The only people left in town at this time at night were people as drunk as Windham was, thieves, murderers, or beggars. Since he couldn't really muster up the concern for what a thief, murderer, beggar, or drunkard might think of them, Darion disregarded any hesitation. With one fluid motion, he scooped Windham off his feet and carried him with one arm supporting his back and the other hooked under his knees. Carrying him made the walk back to his apartment complex much easier.
     Climbing up the stairs to the fourth floor provided a vastly different set of challenges. Since Windham could hardly put one foot in front of the other without falling, Darion sighed, slung the man over his shoulder, and began his ascent.
     Windham lifted his head slightly at the sound of tumblers turning and a lock clicking. The door shut quietly behind them as Darion walked onwards into his room and carefully set Windham down on the bed. Even through his drunken haze, he could see Darion shrugging off his Watch uniform. Watching the well-defined muscles of his back ripple with each movement brought a new heat to his face that was entirely unrelated to his inebriation.
     "Daaaaarion," he called out, weakly kicking off his boots. "C'mere! 'M cold."
     "Alright, alright, keep your pants on." He made his way over to the bed and plopped down next to Windham. He reached over to turn the bedside lamp off, but before he knew it, Windham had crawled on top of him and settled himself firmly against Darion's hips.
     Laughing in disbelief, Darion attempted to push the man off. "What in the Void are you doing? Go to sleep, man."
     "Nnnno. Don't wanna." Windham nuzzled the side of Darion's neck. "Wanna have some fun."
     "Windham. You are drunk."
     "No 'm not..." He grinned and grabbed Darion's hand, guiding it just below the waistband of his pants.
     "Windham, I'm not gonna—" His sentence was cut short when the overseer leaned forward and messily kissed him, desperately grabbing at his shoulders.
     Darion gently pushed him away, ignoring his whining. "You need to go to sleep, baby. Can you do that for me?"
     "But I don't wanna..."
     "I know, I know. But can you do it for me?"
     Windham held his gaze for quite a while before huffing and rolling off of Darion. "Y'r a jerk."
     "And you're drunk," he retorted, pulling the covers up to Windham's shoulders before reaching over to turn the lamp off. "Now go to sleep."
Windham grumbled some choice words under his breath but fell silent when strong arms encircled his waist. It may not have been exactly what he wanted, but it was close enough. "'Night."
"G'night, my love." Darion pressed a chaste kiss to the nape of Windham's neck, suppressing a smile at the overseer's satisfied sigh.
Reminder to not let my bastards order drinks for Windham ever again. It's been a long night.